


Injury Time

by telperion_15



Category: Primeval
Genre: First Kiss, Injury, M/M, Oblivious, interruptions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-03
Updated: 2012-02-03
Packaged: 2017-10-30 13:41:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/332344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/telperion_15/pseuds/telperion_15
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stephen tends to Nick when he gets injured.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Injury Time

Nick winced as Stephen pressed a damp towel against his side. Stephen gave him a look that plainly said ‘well, you shouldn’t get in the way of stampeding dinosaurs then, should you?’, and made sure he was holding the towel firmly in place.

The was some discomfort where Stephen was applying pressure, but all in all the coolness felt wonderful against Nick’s damaged skin. The dinosaur had only caught him a glancing blow as it passed, but given its bulk, that was more than enough to propel Nick at least twenty feet, crashing him against the trunk of a tree. There was no doubt about it – his torso would be several shades of black-and-blue by tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the team had retired to their hotel to write up their notes and, in Nick’s case, nurse his injuries. Stephen had insisted on checking him over for damage, and for once Nick hadn’t the wherewithal to resist.

Stephen, for his part, was making sure that he checked Nick over very thoroughly. Nick’s acquiescence to his ministrations was only another way of refusing to go to casualty for a proper medical assessment, and Stephen was determined therefore to make sure that there was no good reason for him to force Nick to go to the hospital.

This time, however, Nick appeared to have been lucky. He had none of the pain associated with cracked or broken ribs, or the difficulties associated with a collapsed lung. Both men had had their fair share of injuries while working with the anomalies – some life-threatening and some not. But this injury apparently fell into the latter category, and Stephen eventually concluded that Nick could recover just as well in this hotel room as he could in a hospital room.

So now he was concentrating on trying to dull the angry red of the scrapes and grazes that covered Nick’s right side. The man was wincing with every movement he made, and Stephen knew that if he could soothe the pain and get Nick to relax, it might reduce some of the future soreness and stiffness that was the inevitable result of this kind of injury.

Of course, the other outcome of this situation was that Stephen now had Nick Cutter sitting on a bed, semi-naked, and Stephen was touching him. Well, almost touching him. But Stephen was trying not to think about that too much because, firstly, it was inappropriate given the circumstances, and secondly, it was inappropriate given that this was Nick Cutter. Who would run a mile if he knew the direction that Stephen’s thoughts were heading in.

So instead he focussed on holding the towel in place, and tried very firmly to direct his thoughts on to another, safer track. What, for instance, was Lester going to say about the mess created by this latest visitor from the prehistoric? And how long was it going to take before Connor stopped being excited about having another dinosaur to add to his ‘sighting’ list? And would Claudia be able to…

An extra loud hiss of pain brought Stephen abruptly back to the situation at hand. The grimace on Nick’s face expressed something along the lines of ‘I knew this was going to hurt, but does it have to hurt this much?’, and Stephen suddenly realised that he was holding the towel against Nick’s side rather _too_ firmly. In fact, Nick was having to brace himself against the bed with his left arm to stop Stephen pushing him over.

With an exclamation Stephen took his hands away, letting the towel fall to the floor and allowing Nick to sit upright again. Nick looked relieved, but he was also smiling slightly.

“That must have been some great place your mind wandered off to,” he said lightly.

Stephen couldn’t help it – he blushed. Nick’s words had hit a little too close to home. “Sorry,” he muttered, ducking his head under the pretence of checking Nick’s injury again.

Unfortunately, Nick ducked his head at the same time, no doubt trying to see if he could deduce Stephen’s thoughts from his expression. There was the sound of two skulls impacting, and both men sat back quickly, seeing stars.

As Stephen’s vision cleared, he saw that Nick was gingerly prodding his head, checking for bumps.

“Sorry,” said Stephen again, his face now aflame with embarrassment. “Maybe I should just leave you alone. I don’t think I’m helping much.”

He half rose, but Nick waved him back down. “Don’t worry about it. It’s just my day to be in the wars, that’s all. You’ll get your turn another day. Trust me.”

Stephen ran a hand through his hair distractedly.  _Can this situation get any worse?_ he wondered. He knew it would be a good idea to leave before he did any more damage, physical or otherwise, but at the moment he couldn’t think of a single excuse to go, especially since he was trying _not_ to make Nick suspicious.

“Well, you don’t appear to have any cartoon bumps appearing.”

For the second time in five minutes Stephen was jolted back to the here-and-now by Nick. Only this time Nick was no more than six inches away, his face screwed up in concentration as he examined Stephen’s hairline for injuries.

Stephen was mesmerised by seeing Nick’s face so near his own. He didn’t usually allow himself to come this close to Nick, barring injury or rescue. It hadn’t always been that way. The two men had previously shared each other’s personal space with no problems at all. But that had changed since Stephen had realised that he was attracted to his best friend and boss. Sometimes he wondered whether Nick had noticed the change.

But right now, although he knew he should, Stephen couldn’t make himself move away. Adrenaline fatigue, worry for Nick, and all-round general tiredness were combining to frazzle his brain, making common sense and logic a thing of the past.

So, instead of moving away, Stephen took the only other option his tired mind presented him with. He leaned forward and kissed Nick.

It took about three seconds for his higher brain functions to finally kick in and start shrieking at him that this was a really bad idea, and that he should get out right now. And yet Stephen couldn’t seem to stop. Higher brain functions were definitely not in control at the moment – they might shriek all they liked, but they had no power over him.

And also, behind all the shrieking, was the realisation that Nick himself hadn’t pulled away either. In fact, he might almost be reciprocating.

But then something happened – possibly the only thing that could have made Stephen pay attention to the common sense side of his brain.

Someone knocked on the door.

Stephen jerked backwards as if he had received an electric shock. For a split second he and Nick stared at each other, both seemingly lost for words. Then Stephen quickly rose to his feet.

“I’ll get it.”

He hurried over to the door and wrenched it open. Standing in the hallway was Claudia.

“Oh, Stephen. I didn’t realise you were here. I just wanted to check on Cutter. Is he alright?”

Stephen stood back slightly to let her see into the room, to where Nick was sitting on the bed – looking, in Stephen’s opinion, completely incriminating, half-clothed and slightly dazed-looking as he was.

“He’s fine,” said Stephen. “There’ll be some bruising and stiffness for quite a while, but no permanent damage. He was lucky. The dino only whacked him comparatively gently. It could have been a lot worse. All he needs now is some time to rest and recuperate. I think it’ll be a while before he gets back in the field.”

Stephen knew he was gabbling, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. He couldn’t decide whether he would rather that Claudia went away right now before she started to suspect something, or whether it would be better if she stayed, so he wouldn’t have to be alone with Nick.

Nick himself wasn’t being very helpful, either. He didn’t seem to want to chip in and interrupt Stephen’s rambling. And his slightly dazed expression had morphed into something that could almost have been called a smile. It was not a look designed to convey innocence.

Stephen abruptly decided that it would be a good idea if Claudia left. Like, right now. “Well, I’m sure Cutter will give you his thoughts on the anomaly in the morning,” he said. “After he’s got a good night’s sleep,” he added pointedly, hoping Claudia would take the hint.

She did. “Okay. Well, I’m glad to see everyone’s alright. Good-night, Cutter. Good-night, Stephen.”

“Good-night, Claudia,” said Nick, giving her a little wave.

“Yes, good-night,” echoed Stephen, as he shut the door. His last glimpse of Claudia showed him a slightly confused expression, followed by a dismissive shake of the head as she turned away down the corridor.

Stephen turned back towards Nick, but didn’t move away from the door. He was suddenly feeling a strong desire to be near an escape route, should one be needed. Which seemed probable, given recent events.

But there was no doubt about it – Nick was definitely smiling. In a way that was making Stephen slightly nervous. He immediately went on the defensive.

“What? What?! If you’ve got something to say, why don’t you just say it? This situation can’t possibly get any worse, after all.”

Nick’s smile widened. “Oh, I don’t think I’m the one with something to say,” he drawled, his accent heaping innuendo on every word. “Or perhaps you felt actions worked better in this case?”

“Look, I’m sorry…okay? I don’t know what I was thinking. Can we _please_ just forget this ever happened?” Stephen’s hand had gone to the door-handle. The desire to escape was getting stronger by the second.

“And what makes you think I’d want to forget it?” Nick’s voice was full of teasing laughter – he was clearly enjoying himself.

“Look, I…what?” Stephen’s brain had ground to halt. He was no longer sure what was happening. In fact, he was beginning to suspect that he might be in the middle of a very weird dream.

Nick crooked a finger at Stephen, beckoning him back over to the bed. It was a clear invitation, but Stephen was still wary. He decided that remaining by the door was a much safer course of action – at least until he had worked out what was going on.

When Stephen didn’t move, Nick sighed, but made no effort to rise from the bed. This was obviously going to take some careful handling if he didn’t want Stephen to feel he was being mocked.

“I asked you why I’d want to forget it,” he said quietly. “Did you feel me protesting?”

Stephen still looked unsure. “Well, no… But…”

“That’s because I wasn’t,” Nick interrupted him. “Surprised, yes. Protesting, no. And the only reason I was surprised was that I’ve been waiting for so long that I’d given up actually expecting anything. You caught me off-guard, that’s all.”

“So…wait…let me get this straight. You’ve been waiting all this time for me to make a move on you?” Stephen’s brain was juddering back into motion – he could almost feel the cogs turning. “And it didn’t occur to you to make the first move yourself?”

“I didn’t want to scare you off,” confessed Nick. “I knew you were feeling something, but I wasn’t sure exactly what. All I knew was that you were behaving slightly oddly, but I couldn’t be sure why.”

Stephen allowed himself a small smile. “And I thought I’d been hiding it so well,” he joked weakly.

Nick smiled in return. “It’s pretty hard not to notice when someone jerks away every time you get close to them,” he said. “I figured that you were either attracted to me, and trying to keep a lid on it, or that I just smelled really bad.”

Stephen outright grinned at this, and finally took a few steps away from the door. Then…

“Hey, wait a minute! Are you telling me that you cracked me on the head on purpose, to engineer getting close to me to see what I would do? That’s not very chivalrous – taking advantage of someone’s potential concussion like that!”

Nick held up his hands in mock-protest. “No engineering, I promise. Just luck.”

Now closer to the bed than to the door, Stephen smiled again, but this time the expression had a new edge to it. “And how much farther would you like to push your luck?” he asked softly.

“Oh, as far as I can, definitely,” replied Nick glibly, treating Stephen to a grin that perfectly matched his.

Finally resettling himself on the bed next to Nick, Stephen hesitated, still not quite able to believe his own luck. Nick, however, appeared to have no such illusions. Without missing a beat he leaned forward and captured Stephen’s lips with his own.

This time around the kiss was a totally different affair. Stephen felt no panic, only a _very_ pleasant fluttering somewhere in his stomach. And there was no doubt now about Nick’s participation. Kissing him was everything Stephen had imagined it to be, and more. His lips were soft and pliant, and there was the slight scuff of day-old stubble, the feeling of which sent a shiver down Stephen’s spine.

Without him really noticing, his hand had snaked up Nick’s arm and settled around the back of his neck, allowing him to pull the other man closer. It was only when Nick hissed low in his throat that Stephen suddenly realised what an awkward position this must be for someone who had recently had their ribs bashed against a tree. He abruptly dropped his hand, allowing Nick to pull back, breaking the kiss.

As Nick drew away Stephen could see the drawn look around his eyes that indicated pain. “I hope that look isn’t a reflection on my kissing ability,” he said lightly.

Nick’s expression turned apologetic. “Sorry,” he muttered. “Guess I shouldn’t try and twist my upper body for a while.”

Stephen considered. “Well, what about if you were lying flat?” he mused slowly. “Surely that wouldn’t do your side any harm?”

Nick looked confused for a moment, then his face showed a dawning realisation. “I can’t see that there would be any problem with that,” he agreed. “And what do you know, there’s a bed right here that I can lie down on. My luck must be in!”

“It definitely is your lucky day,” replied Stephen, his tone of voice suggesting far more meanings to the words than were immediately apparent.

“And do you know what else?” Nick added, looking the picture of innocence. “I think I might need someone to keep an eye on me at all times, just to make sure I don’t do myself another injury. Do you know anyone who’d be willing to do that?”

Stephen sighed with mock-irritation. “Well, since I’m here, I suppose I’d better do it,” he said long-sufferingly.

Nick grinned and carefully settled himself on the bed until he was horizontal. Then he looked at Stephen, who had stood up to give him space.

“Well, are you coming? You can’t possibly keep an eye on me from way over there!”

 


End file.
